Boredom Leads to Unforeseen Invitations
by cloudyailin
Summary: A fifth year tale of the Marauders. Oneshot. In an impulsive moment, Sirius undertakes a reckless challenge.


_Not intended to be shipping - at fifteen years old, sometimes people go out with friends. Not a big deal. Obviously, I'm depicting this as a time before James and Lily are seriously interested in each other._

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Sirius flopped into an empty seat in the corner of the Gryffindor Common Room that the Marauders and their lot always occupied. Brina was there, seated on the couch beside Remus and discussing the evolutionary relationships of particular Dark creatures. Peter was scribbling away madly at a History of Magic essay that he'd now rewritten three times. Sirius tried not to watch this, as Peter had an irritating habit of pausing to tap the point of his quill on the table and preen the feathers into a mess with his teeth.

James was stretched across the second couch and flipping through a Quidditch book too swiftly to be getting any information from it. Sirius knew what that meant. Nothing left to do, and boredom was rapidly approaching. Boredom which quickly led to reckless nights outside Gryffindor tower, a deliberate search for trouble, or wildly disruptive and unnecessary parties that would end in detention for more than just the four Marauders. Sirius didn't actually have anything against these particular activities, he just preferred that they occurred in moderation.

"I'm terribly bored," Sirius announced to his friends, demanding their attention. It was true. He was suddenly very bored - James's moods had a habit of infecting Sirius in that way. "I can't think of anything new to do."

Peter's eyes left his essay, his expression becoming anxious and curious as it did so often and so well. "Go on a date," he suggested. Sirius knew that the speed with which the idea had popped out was due to Peter's desire for pointers.

"That's not new," Sirius answered.

"It is if you go with someone new," Remus offered. Sirius admired how Remus always seemed to have one ear on a conversation. It came in useful during classes to be able to pay attention to two things at once.

A devilish grin quickly spread across Sirius' face. He whirled around to kneel in his chair so he could see the rest of the room over its high back. "Oy, Lily!" he shouted towards the redhead on the far side of the room.

"Oh, no," he heard Remus mutter, followed by the sound of Remus' face hitting his palm. "Somebody stop him, please," Remus begged.

Brina giggled.

James tossed his book to the table, abandoning it for a more definite promise of entertainment. "What for?" he answered Remus' plea.

"He's going to get himself injured or hexed, or both."

James only shrugged, eager to see the next few minutes play out.

"Lily!" Sirius called again.

"What?!" Her tone was cross enough to warn off a more sensible person, but after five years as classmates Sirius was too used to Lily's ever-changing moods to take her at face value.

"Come on a date to Hogsmeade with me." The entire Common Room quieted and grew tense. Lily didn't often respond well to such casual, assuming demands, especially ones that were yelled across a crowded room.

She stared blankly, waiting for the punchline that didn't come. She shook her head, eyes fixing on Sirius in concern for his mental stability. In the past they'd teased each other playfully - as Sirius was wont to do with any attractive female - but there had never been a hint of possible romance between them. Something was out of order here. "What the hell for?"

"I'm bored."

Her glare only grew more sarcastic. "And an idiot," she said. "Why would I want to go on a date with _you_?"

The question confused him momentarily, though Lily's mercilessly unpleasant attitude did not. She was still upset about the alarm on the girl's dormitory having been set off at precisely three o'clock that morning, which was perhaps why he could not think of a reason to give: he knew she would need a good one to make up for the trouble he'd caused.

"It's just one date," he answered lamely, knowing that it wasn't a reason, but a bribe, that he needed. He looked about the room for inspiration, and his eyes caught on Brina who helpfully patted her head.

"A hat!" he declared. "I'll buy you a new hat!"

Even if there had been anyone present that wasn't aware of Lily's love of quirky hats, it would have been impossible for them to miss her demeanor brighten. She was tempted. Sirius grinned his most charming, that smile that could warm even McGonagall's heart. "A nice one," he added. "And a whole bag of Chuckling Cherries from Honeydukes."

Lily smiled. "I'm going to hold you to it."

Sirius pumped his arm in triumph for the watching Gryffindors around the room. "Excellent!" He proudly turned back to his friends. "Hey, James, can I borrow a couple Galleons?"

"No."

Sirius looked at his friend's selfish half-pout. "Why not?"

"I wanted to see you get hexed," James answered as though it should have been obvious.

"That can still be arranged," Lily called over from where she stood cleaning her table off.

James threw his head back as he laughed. "Sirius, if you get hexed, I'll _give_ you the Galleons."

Sirius shot to his feet and threw his arms out to present the largest target. "Can somebody hex me please?!"

A dozen wands went up, but as always, Lily was fastest. Sirius saw a shimmer of blue before his eyes for an instant while the spell hit, but it was gone before he'd even blinked. He waited for the results, but nothing happened. Everyone was watching in interest, for Lily's spells were usually the most fearsome of all.

Sirius looked down at himself. "What did you do?" he asked, looking back at Lily, who waited with a self-satisfied smirk.

As he spoke, the results became evident. With each word, his ear doubled in size. His question finished found his ear quadrupled exponentially. His head hung sideways now and the Common Room was filled with laughter. He touched his ear, curious as to whether he was again at the receiving end of one of Lily's homemade spells. "What kind of hex is that?"

There was another burst of laughter as his nose suddenly shot away from his face. A moment of silence allowed him to theorize that the size increases were directly linked to his own speech. Lily didn't answer his question, just stood there grinning at him. He couldn't help but smile as he tried to reach the end of his nose. "That's pretty good," he admitted. His hand quickly grew to resemble one of Hagrid's. Sirius swung it up onto the table to keep it from weighing him down.

Lily approached, tilting her head to meet his askew gaze. "Have I cured you of your boredom yet?"

He grinned. "Not even close," he answered deliberately, relishing each syllable of the words.

She eyed his now enlarged shoulder, where his robes were tightly stretched. "Still worth the cost of a date?"

"Yes." His left shoe burst at its seams.

"I'll be ready at ten o'clock." She flicked her wand effortlessly at Sirius; he waited until she'd turned around before he collapsed into his chair.

Lily turned to James, who was breathless from laughing. "I believe you owe him a pair of Galleons."

James laughed again as he dug into his pocket. "That was fully worth it." After tossing the Galleons to Sirius he called to Lily, "Did you come up on that one on your own?"

"There was a bit of help with the creative inspiration," she admitted.

"Reminds me of the leg one she hit you with last spring," Remus said over his book, which he'd retrieved now that the display of talent was over.

"Same principle," Lily agreed. "But this one was clearly more amusing."

James grinned at Sirius who was straightening in his chair and massaging his ear. "Nice one, Sirius. Way to take one for the team."

Sirius scowled. "Git."

"You shouldn't have done it if it bothered you."

"It didn't. But you enjoyed it far too much." Sirius chucked a stray Charms book at James, who ducked just in time.

Lily smiled at their antics and the promise of a new hat.


End file.
